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Who Were The "Lewd Fellows Of A Baser Sort"?

This is our Understanding the Scripture segment, we’re in the Book of Acts chapter 17.We started with verse 1 last week, and I want to just give some background.Paul had come to Thessalonica and there in the synagogue of the Jews, Paul would--this is the Sabbath day--for three Sabbath days he reasoned with them, the Scripture says.He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, and opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, Paul says, is Christ.So, we will pick up with Verse 4:“And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.”So, he’s in a synagogue, so there must have been Gentiles that had converted to Judaism, is that the case, Dave?

Dave:

Yeah, or you could certainly visit a synagogue, not like the Temple, Gentiles could not go there, although there was a court for the Gentiles in the days when the Temple was on TempleMount.So, whether they have actually converted to Judaism or whether they were just curious.Here’s this guy that’s come, these people have come and--I don’t know.But his talk was heard by some Greeks.

Tom:

Well, Dave, what do you think it means,--“and of the chief women, not a few” this is really interesting.

Dave:

Well, apparently, even in those days some women had some leadership roles that they fulfilled.

Tom:

This is Greek society.

Dave:

Yeah, and interestingly, the last chapter in Proverbs, Solomon talks about the woman in whom her husband doth safely trust.She hired the servants, she goes out and buys and sells and runs the household, and so forth.

Tom:

Sounds like Ruth Hunt!

Dave:

Yeah.So, some of these women were rather important and influential, and some of them came to Christ, they believed, and that upsets the Jews because they thought this Messiah--he’s talking about the Messiah--and he’s pointing out their Scriptures, and look, this is what it says about the Messiah.Now, how can these Gentiles get in on this?And you know that even the disciples had a tough time with that one.

Tom:

Right, for many years after Christ ascended into heaven.So, we’re spies.“But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort,…

Dave:

I like that phrase, “lewd fellows of the baser sort”--wow!You guys are pretty low.

Tom:

And gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.”

Dave:

You know, Tom, that reminds me of 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, I think it’s verse 2, I don’t know, I don’t remember the verse, somewhere around there, and Paul asks prayer that we would be delivered from wicked and unreasonable men, he says, for all men have not faith.If you don’t have faith in God you’re not really trusting Him.You’re going to be wicked and you will be unreasonable--these lewd fellows of the baser sort.

Tom:

The Scripture calls us to a reasonable faith, not just a leap of faith.

Dave:

Exactly.There are people that it’s impossible to reason with, Tom, and they have turned their backs on God, they’ve turned their back on the truth, and I could begin to name quite a few in our society.Tom, let me just name one.I’m thinking of George Wald, Harvard professor, Nobel Prize winner, and I’m writing a book right now called:Cosmos, Creator and Human Destiny, and I quote him, among some others, and he’s an evolutionist.Now, he says, in the quote, and I can’t give you a verbatim quote, but anyway, he says:“Well, we all know that you can’t have spontaneous generation, Pasteur proved that.This is the law of biogenesis, life only comes from life.”Well then, how are we going to explain life?You got a big bang, that must have pasteurized everything pretty thoroughly.So, where could life come from? Well, we know it’s impossible, but here we are as a result of spontaneous generation because we will not believe in divine creation.

Dave:

That’s folly!

Tom:

Sounds unreasonable to me.

Dave:

Very unreasonable, because they will not accept God, and that’s kind of “these lewd fellows of the baser sort.”

Tom:

Well, it demands accountability, Dave, and that to me is why evolution, Darwinian’s ideas took off, because it seemed to remove accountability to a God who created everything.

Dave:

Yeah, now I’m not putting George Wald and other scientists in this category, because obviously, these guys were rabble rousers, get out there and rouse the crowd and they don’t even know what the reason is but they are rioting, they just like to riot.But Tom, in a sense, there’s a relationship, because, you remember the Scopes trial?The Scopes trial was because Christianity, creation was in the schools and their whole argument was, Well, you ought to at least teach both sides.Remember that?Well, they supposedly won the case.I mean, it was ridiculous because they had no evidence, and so forth.But anyway, now what happened?Now, they have turned the tables--you can’t have creation in here.Not even as a theory, you know.No, no, no, that’s not science.So, they have taken control, and I would say that they are like rabble rousers.You want to reason with people--look, there’s evidence out there for design, you cannot escape it.We ought to at least be able to face the evidence.Let’s present the evidence and let people come to their own conclusions.Absolutely not, that’s not science, that’s religion, we’re not going to allow that!I would say they are like rabble rousers.

Tom:

Well Dave, what about the verse:“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God!”I mean, there’s foolishness at least for these guys, right?

Dave:

I’m afraid so, Tom, because they are determined that there is no God.I quote another one of these scientists, mathematician, in the book and he says:“I admit that some of the theories of science, or let’s say some of the dogmas of science are foolish on the very face of it.But we are going to cling to these because--now I’m giving you an exact quote:“We will not allow a divine foot in the door.”So, these men are rebels against the God that created them.And these guys were rabble rousers and they stirred up the people, they made an assault, you know, they are violent, unreasonable and wicked.Verse 6:“When they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.”Tom, let’s go back to the DSM--they set their own rules!

Tom:

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, that’s the DSM.

Dave:

They make their own definitions.What do you mean “turn the world upside down”?They were turning the world right side up!But that was their definition.It reminds me, Tom, of, you know, I used to get out on college campuses a lot and just cold turkey walk up to people and talk to them.Well, they are against absolutes, there are no moral absolutes, absolutely!Well, say the guy is running for political office, follow him around for a little while and he will begin to tell the voters what is right and what is wrong, and he has his standards and his definitions, okay.It’s the same situation here.

Tom:

Verse 7:“Whom Jason hath received:and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.”

Dave:

You’re going to upset a lot of people.The decrees of Caesar, that was their law, the Roman Empire was very efficient.They really ran a tight ship, and you didn’t mess with the decrees of Caesar, which is really amazing for that day.And of course, how better are you going to arouse the rabble then, Oh, they’re trying to start a revolution against Caesar.Well, in fact I guess it was a revolution against Caesar.

Tom:

Certainly the god-king in effect.

Dave:

Yeah.And, you know, Tom, it’s often been said that the early Christians would not have been thrown to the lions, they would not have been persecuted had they been a little more ecumenical, had they said, well Jesus is one of the gods, Yahweh is one of the gods.No, they insisted that there is only one true God and only one way of salvation.That got them into trouble.So that’s what the Church, a lot of it today, is trying to avoid.We just kind of massage over that.We try to get along with everybody and they’re really allowing people to go to hell.

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